Crypto worker's family held hostage in France for $46,000
Four armed attackers broke into the home of an IT specialist working in the crypto industry in northern France, tied up his wife and two children, and forced him to hand over access to his digital assets. The attackers stole around €40,000 ($46,000) in cryptocurrency before fleeing.
According to BFMTV, the incident occurred early on September 20 in the commune of Vendin-le-Vieil. The Béthune prosecutor's office said four masked men held the family inside the home for more than three hours before the victims managed to free themselves.
The victim is a 40-year-old salaried IT specialist working in the digital asset sector. His children, aged eight and 12, were also inside the house during the attack.
Attackers force victim to hand over access codes
The attackers bound the family members with black adhesive tape and searched the house. They then took the man into a separate room, beat him and forced him to provide identification details and access codes for his cryptocurrency.
According to a source close to the investigation, the victim's 12-year-old daughter was struck in the face with car keys. After gaining access to the assets, the attackers stole around €40,000 in cryptocurrency and left the house.
The family managed to free themselves after the attackers had gone. Emergency services arrived at around 7:00 a.m., and the victims, who were in a state of shock, were referred for forensic medical examinations.
Prosecutors are investigating the case as kidnapping and extortion committed by an organized group. The regional judicial police and France's cybercrime unit are involved in the investigation, while all four suspects remain at large.
France faces wave of attacks on crypto holders
Physical attacks aimed at gaining access to cryptocurrency have become known as wrench attacks. Previous victims in France have largely been wealthy members of the industry and their relatives, including the father of a crypto millionaire, the wife of The Sandbox co-founder and an executive at Binance France.
The latest case differs in that the target was a salaried IT specialist and the amount stolen was in the tens of thousands of euros. During the first eight months of 2026, French prosecutors specializing in organized crime recorded more than 70 crypto-related kidnappings and cases of unlawful detention.
Amid the rise in attacks, French authorities have expanded measures to protect digital asset holders. According to the country's Interior Ministry, 77 kidnappings, extortion cases and attempted crimes linked to cryptocurrency have been recorded since the beginning of 2026.
Authorities have also stepped up efforts to prosecute suspected members of such groups. In one major operation, for example, 88 people were charged, including minors.
Earlier, we reported that a musician and members of his family in Mexico were killed during a robbery linked to $1.5 million in Bitcoin. The attackers were attempting to gain access to the victims' digital assets.
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